


Taking Care

by Angel Ascending (angel_in_ink)



Series: Everything She's Not(t) [2]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: A Family Can Be a Goblin and a Wizard and a Cat, Comfort, Gen, Just a Hint of Canon Typical Violence, Spoilers for Episode 13 of Campaign 2, Yes I Managed Both of Those At The Same Time, pre-stream
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-08
Updated: 2018-04-08
Packaged: 2019-04-20 10:22:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14258901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angel_in_ink/pseuds/Angel%20Ascending
Summary: Nott had been with Caleb for months now and she seriously wondered how Caleb had survived being on his own for so long. He had an almost goblin-like distrust of people and a mind clever enough to think of cons to bring in coin, which had to account for some of it, but otherwise? His weak human eyes couldn’t even see in the dark! He was prone to near crippling headaches and spring colds, and he’d forget to eat if he had a new book he was reading.





	Taking Care

Nott had been with Caleb for months now and she seriously wondered how Caleb had survived being on his own for so long. He had an almost goblin-like distrust of people and a mind clever enough to think of cons to bring in coin, which had to account for some of it, but otherwise? His weak human eyes couldn’t even see in the dark! He was prone to near crippling headaches and spring colds, and he’d forget to eat if he had a new book he was reading. Actually forget to eat! Nott herself couldn’t get over the absolute _luxury_ of having enough to eat every day, and there Caleb was, sitting across the fire from her, book in one hand and a bowl of stew growing cold in his lap, his other hand toying idly with his spoon.

“Caleb?”

Caleb turned a page with his thumb, utterly entranced.

“Not hungry?”

Caleb made a completely neutral sound, not a yes or a no. Nott sighed and gave a pointed look to Frumpkin, who was staring at Caleb’s bowl of stew intently. Frumpkin butted his head against the bowl and gave a long, drawn out meow. Nott couldn’t understand animal speech, but she knew frustration when she heard it. Caleb blinked and looked down at Frumpkin. “What is it? You don’t need to eat, you’re magic.”

“Frumpkin doesn’t need to eat, but you do,” Nott said. “Can’t you eat and read at the same time?”

“Sometimes I can,” Caleb said. “And sometimes the chewing is distracting.”

Frumpkin meowed again and batted gently at the book in Caleb’s hand.

“Oh fine,” Caleb said in exasperation, putting down the book and begrudgingly beginning to eat, but not before petting his familiar. Nott could hear Frumpkin purring from where she was sitting and she smiled. Between the two of them maybe they could get the wizard to read a little less, or at least eat a little more.

*********

Caleb slept on his side, curled up around Frumpkin, his books under his pillow. Nott slept beside Caleb, tucked into the space behind his knees. They only had the one bedroll, and they often shared a bed at the inns they sometimes stayed at, like they were doing now, since Nott took up so little space herself. She didn’t mind. Sleeping in piles was one of the few aspects of goblin life she had actually enjoyed, even if she had always been on the very edge of the pile. There needed to be more people involved for a proper pile, but Caleb was suitable for now. He was warm and smelled familiar and that was enough for Nott. He barely moved in his sleep as well, so Nott didn’t even have to worry about him rolling over and crushing her. Not that he could, Caleb was still woefully thin despite Nott’s best efforts.

Nott had almost fallen asleep when the mumbling started. She came awake instantly, long ears twitching slightly. She didn’t know Caleb’s native language very well, but the tone was easy enough to decipher. Another bad dream. He had so many, and Nott didn’t know what to do about them. She had learned very quickly in their travels together that waking him up suddenly was _not_ the thing to do, not unless she wanted a yelling, panicky Caleb. Leaving him alone to suffer through his nightmares wasn’t good either, and not just because it made Nott feel bad, to sit there and do nothing while Caleb whimpered. Sometimes Caleb’s hands would smolder gently in his sleep, and she was terribly afraid that he would set himself on fire one day. The fact that he hadn’t yet didn’t do anything to calm those fears.

Nott sat up and gently put a hand on Caleb’s hip. “Caleb?” She whispered softly. That was the key with him, gentle touches and quiet words, so different from goblin society had taught her, where you dealt with problems by yelling them into submission or hitting them until they stopped being problems.

Caleb mumbled something unhappily, and Nott could just make out the shine of tears in the light of the moon through the room’s one small window. In sleep most of the worry and stress had smoothed out of his face and he looked so very, very young, at least to Nott. She shifted slightly, reaching up and running her fingers through his hair, being mindful of her claws.

“Poor boy,” Nott said softly. “Poor scared boy. Shhhhhhhh, it’s going to be all right.”

To Nott’s complete and utter amazement, Caleb slept easier after that.

***********

“I’ve been thinking,” Caleb said as he packed up their things one morning. “That perhaps in the next town we come to, we should find some more people to hang out with. Safety in numbers and all that sort of thing.”

Caleb actually wanted to be around other people! Nott felt strangely proud of Caleb even as a little bit of her, the part of her that was still very much a goblin, hissed that Caleb was _hers_.

“After all,” Caleb continued, reaching out to ruffle Nott’s hair. “We have both been doing so well together, yes? Better than we were separately.”

“I think that’s an excellent idea,” Nott said. It’d be nice to have some help in looking out for Caleb, and it’d be good for him to make some new friends. That and there was indeed safety in numbers.

Nott thought about that conversation later that day when the gnolls ambushed them, all teeth and spears and high pitched yipping cries. The fight that followed was a desperate thing, a mad scramble of dodging blows, of hiding behind trees and rocks, firing spells and crossbows from a distance. Nott had lost track of Caleb, didn’t know if he was behind a tree to the left of her or a rock to the right of her. How could she protect him if she didn’t know where he was? Panic rose in her throat as she crouched behind a rock, trying to load a crossbow bolt with shaking hands. “Caleb?” she called out as she finally managed to slide the bolt in place. She popped her head out from behind the rock, not seeing any targets in her line of sight. “Caleb?”

A bolt of fire sailed over her to the left, and she heard a screaming yelp of pain as a gnoll began to burn. Nott darted out from behind her rock, scrambling toward the tree Caleb was hiding behind. She was so focused on her destination that she didn’t see the last gnoll out of the corner of her eye until it was too late and she froze as she saw her own death come at her on the point of a spear—

Caleb stepped in front of her. Caleb, who hated loud noises and crowds, who cried in his sleep, who called himself a coward at every opportunity, Caleb stepped in front of her and Nott screamed as she saw the spear pierce his gut. She saw him look down in surprise, as if somehow he hadn’t expected that to happen, saw him look back at her, saw the blood on his lips when he told her to run, saw his eyes go empty as he fell to the ground.

Nott, who had never been brave, who had been given a joke of a name, drew her shortsword and ran at the gnoll, screaming.

**“HOW DARE YOU HURT MY SON!!”**

Nott didn’t think about what she said in the heat of the moment. Later on, while Caleb was sleeping, it would be all that she could think about. The gnoll didn’t have a chance, had no defense against her fury, her love, a mother’s love for her son, no matter that they weren’t blood, that they were two entirely different races. He was _hers._

Caleb was barely breathing when Nott went to her knees beside his body. Nott could hardly see though her tears and she fumbled for the healing potion she had bought in the last town, her trembling fingers barely able to pop the cork on it. She pulled the spear from his stomach at the same time she tipped the potion down his throat, afraid to speak, afraid to breathe, as if doing either would prevent the magic from working. It was only when he gasped and opened his eyes, those eyes that were as blue as the sky at dawn, did she let herself cry in earnest, throwing herself across his chest.

Caleb’s arm draped itself across her back in a hug. “Nott? You saved me?” He sounded so confused, like someone wanting to save his life was an impossible, foreign idea, and it nearly broke Nott’s heart to hear it.

Nott lifted her head. “Of course I did!”

“Thank you.” Caleb’s voice was soft as he gently stroked her hair. “Please don’t cry anymore, I’m all right now.”

“You scared me,” Nott said. “Don’t just step into danger like that!”

“I had to protect you,” Caleb said matter of factly, as was his way. He shifted his weight and slowly got to his feet, wincing. “Come, let us see if these creatures have anything on them worth selling.”

**_I_** _will protect_ ** _you_** _,_ Nott thought fiercely, and began to loot the bodies, hoping the gnolls had some coin on them. She needed to buy another healing potion, just in case.

**Author's Note:**

> Caleb and Nott fought gnolls in their session zero, so this is how I imagined that went down. 
> 
> I'm angel-ascending on Tumblr if you want to stop in and say hi!


End file.
